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I work in that building on the SW Corner.

Have you heard anything more about Metro's plans for the area? Are they taking land from the shopping center, or heaven forbid, are they going to take the entire shopping center?

It seems like the schematic plans showed that there would be a train station where the Shell Station is now, but I could be making that up...

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Something just occurred to me yesterday regarding both this line and the East End or Harrisburg line. I believe both will run in diamond lanes downtown, meaning they won't be laying the rail and covering it up (and they will be sharing the lanes with buses etc). I wonder/hope if that means a subway is still a possibility for the downtown portions of these lines when they convert to light rail.

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Something just occurred to me yesterday regarding both this line and the East End or Harrisburg line. I believe both will run in diamond lanes downtown, meaning they won't be laying the rail and covering it up (and they will be sharing the lanes with buses etc). I wonder/hope if that means a subway is still a possibility for the downtown portions of these lines when they convert to light rail.

NOPE!!!

CHRONICLE: The Metropolitan Transit Authority board voted today on a Richmond-Wheeler route for its controversial University light rail line. But that was almost an anticlimax: It also voted to put light rail not Bus Rapid Transit on all five planned lines.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5223782.html

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I doubt it will be a subway. This is one of the easier allignments to run. Both Capitol and Rusk are 5 lane one-way streets. The line will likely run in the outside lane next to the sidewalk, a lane that currently is used for parking. No traffic lanes should be affected.

As for subways flooding, Jax, you know better than that. It is not hard to build tunnels that do not flood.

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Why would they put a subway for this line anyway? A subway for the Uptown Line, or close to the Red Line would get more usage.

Early on, there had been serious talk about a small subterranian segment as a necessity for seamless transitions from the Red Line to the Southeast Line in downtown (important for accessing the big intermodal facility at Hardy Yards). Apparently doing it at grade would've produced a messy fustercluck. Additionally, even a single subway station would allow METRO to run express trains greater than two cars in length.

It would not surprise me in the least if, within five to ten years, there is talk about ripping up Main Street downtown again to install a subway, if only to accomodate larger trains throughout the LRT system.

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It would not surprise me in the least if, within five to ten years, there is talk about ripping up Main Street downtown again to install a subway, if only to accomodate larger trains throughout the LRT system.

The length of the blocks will determine what the length of the average train will be.

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Have you heard anything more about Metro's plans for the area? Are they taking land from the shopping center, or heaven forbid, are they going to take the entire shopping center?

It seems like the schematic plans showed that there would be a train station where the Shell Station is now, but I could be making that up...

No they kept us pretty much updated and I talked to gentleman who owns the gas station in the middle of Mlk. He said that they are going straight down the middle of that wide median where MLK splits, and he has no choice but to let them bulldoze. Its sad because I will miss that gas station as I always walk across the street to buy snacks and drinks during the work day. I think this will be great especially seeing how I watch cars all the time go the wrong way on MLK right where it splits at that Shell station.

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No they kept us pretty much updated and I talked to gentleman who owns the gas station in the middle of Mlk. He said that they are going straight down the middle of that wide median where MLK splits, and he has no choice but to let them bulldoze. Its sad because I will miss that gas station as I always walk across the street to buy snacks and drinks during the work day. I think this will be great especially seeing how I watch cars all the time go the wrong way on MLK right where it splits at that Shell station.

Totally off topic, but how's that fish market on the other side of MLK? New Orleans Fish Market, I believe?

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Just ran across some interesting info in the Southeast Line FEIS:

The LRT alternative they studied for the line ran in Capitol Street downtown (from Bagby to St. Emanuel). The BRT was slated to run in Capitol and Rusk. So, now that they have decided to go with LRT, presumably the line will run on Capitol only.

Also read somewhere earlier today that the plan includes an additional station on the Red Line between the Main Street Square Station and Preston Station. That will provide much better connectivity for transfers between the Southeast/East End line and the Red Line.

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Totally off topic, but how's that fish market on the other side of MLK? New Orleans Fish Market, I believe?

I eat there quite often as matter fact during lunch. The prices are good and I enjoy the food. Very nice people that run that shop!!

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Curious as to will the SE line run to the intermodal or will it be a transfer to the Red line. I believe I read somewhere it was supposed to go to the intermodal, but with it now being LRT I was wondering if it would be like the Uptown/ U line where they could go on one anothers tracks?

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Curious as to will the SE line run to the intermodal or will it be a transfer to the Red line. I believe I read somewhere it was supposed to go to the intermodal, but with it now being LRT I was wondering if it would be like the Uptown/ U line where they could go on one anothers tracks?

Not likely. It looks like it will run down Capitol Street, intersecting with the Red Line, but not allowing rail cars to go from one to the other, but allowing for easy passenger transfers from one to the other.

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I think some of the intersections will allow cars to go from one line to another (such as Univeristy line -> Uptown line). Not sure about this one though

Yes, you are quite right, as to the U-Line-> Uptown Line. I, of course, was only speaking of the one particular intersection between the SE Line and the Red Line in the middle of downtown Houston. But to achieve maximum flexibility I wouldn't be surprised if they build all of the intersections to allow for such movements back and forth, even if they don't plan to run interline service involving a particular intersection. On the other hand, I'm not sure they could even make the turns at a downtown intersection...

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Yes, you are quite right, as to the U-Line-> Uptown Line. I, of course, was only speaking of the one particular intersection between the SE Line and the Red Line in the middle of downtown Houston. But to achieve maximum flexibility I wouldn't be surprised if they build all of the intersections to allow for such movements back and forth, even if they don't plan to run interline service involving a particular intersection. On the other hand, I'm not sure they could even make the turns at a downtown intersection...

It could be done, but with great difficulty. It is effectively impossible in practice to do so on the surface because it'd have to make a broad arc that would disrupt sidewalk corners, pedestrian crossings, signal lights, etc. in a really funky way. This is why an underground segment was discussed a while back.

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I eat there quite often as matter fact during lunch. The prices are good and I enjoy the food. Very nice people that run that shop!!

I checked it out on Friday afternoon...too salty for my taste. Too salty even for my wife, and that's saying something.

To make up for that, I had to go over to #1 Chicken and Rice on Almeda on Saturday. :)

I also noticed Navy Seafood is opening up (or has opened up) a new location on Scott around Seabrook or so. It's just outside South Union. I wonder if the new location is a replacement for the one on Scott at Holman (by UH). The Scott at Holman location is going to be taken by METRO for the SE Line.

I may have mentioned it before, but it's interesting to say the least that, according to METRO's schematics, the SE Line will take the "undesirable" properties, but weave around the more desirable ones. For instance, the SE Line will take the gas station at Scott and Elgin, the Lexus Inn (or whatever it is), the Popeyes, and the Navy Seafood, but as you continue down the street (on the next block), it won't touch the South Philly Steaks, or the new fast food places and new shopping center on Scott.

Maybe just a matter of property value, but maybe not?

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I checked it out on Friday afternoon...too salty for my taste. Too salty even for my wife, and that's saying something.

To make up for that, I had to go over to #1 Chicken and Rice on Almeda on Saturday. :)

I also noticed Navy Seafood is opening up (or has opened up) a new location on Scott around Seabrook or so. It's just outside South Union. I wonder if the new location is a replacement for the one on Scott at Holman (by UH). The Scott at Holman location is going to be taken by METRO for the SE Line.

I may have mentioned it before, but it's interesting to say the least that, according to METRO's schematics, the SE Line will take the "undesirable" properties, but weave around the more desirable ones. For instance, the SE Line will take the gas station at Scott and Elgin, the Lexus Inn (or whatever it is), the Popeyes, and the Navy Seafood, but as you continue down the street (on the next block), it won't touch the South Philly Steaks, or the new fast food places and new shopping center on Scott.

Maybe just a matter of property value, but maybe not?

Yea my girlfriend calls it "GHETTO" food, and she jokes That Im used to that GHETTO food!!! :D:D . Yea I noticed that about the schematics, money talks I guess.

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Yea my girlfriend calls it "GHETTO" food, and she jokes That Im used to that GHETTO food!!! :D:D . Yea I noticed that about the schematics, money talks I guess.

Several years back, I was with some friends at a Steak House eating a nice meal and drinking some wine. we had known each other for about 10 years and we recalled how we used to eat at Charlie's Diner (now Chances) and drink coffee and split an order of fries at all hours of the day because that's what we could afford. We would sit there for hours BS'ing about girls and complaining about our jobs.

We snap back at the present, we raised are glasses and I made a toast, "God, those years sucked!"

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I may have mentioned it before, but it's interesting to say the least that, according to METRO's schematics, the SE Line will take the "undesirable" properties, but weave around the more desirable ones. For instance, the SE Line will take the gas station at Scott and Elgin, the Lexus Inn (or whatever it is), the Popeyes, and the Navy Seafood, but as you continue down the street (on the next block), it won't touch the South Philly Steaks, or the new fast food places and new shopping center on Scott.

Maybe just a matter of property value, but maybe not?

I hope it takes the rundown car wash on Scott across from UH, the seafood restuarant further north at McGowen and Scott as well however I am sorry to hear that Cream Burger (Scott and Elgin) will be taken. I was pratically raised on Burgers and Ice Cream cones at Creme Burger.

Onto a similar subject I know this is U-Line topic and this may seem to be spiritaully (for lack of a better worid) insensitive but the gigantic church on Elgin across from UH is hideous. It's as if they never completed the structure. Its been at least 15 years since it was erected. Are they going to complete it? Either complete it or metro take it. Sorry is I offended anyone.

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Onto a similar subject I know this is U-Line topic and this may seem to be spiritaully (for lack of a better worid) insensitive but the gigantic church on Elgin across from UH is hideous. It's as if they never completed the structure. Its been at least 15 years since it was erected. Are they going to complete it? Either complete it or metro take it. Sorry is I offended anyone.

That place is the Sagrada Familia of the Third Ward! :lol:

At any rate, the median on Elgin between Scott and the Gulf Freeway should be wide enough such that they won't need to acquire any additional ROW.

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  • 1 month later...

FTA tells Metro to rework its rail plans

Federal transit officials have told the Metropolitan Transit Authority it must re-apply for approval of its preliminary engineering work for planned light rail lines in the north and southeast corridors.

The Federal Transit Administration's decision was prompted by Metro's announcement that it would build rail rather than bus rapid transit in the two corridors, according to a letter from Sherry E. Little, the agency's deputy administrator, to Metro chief executive Frank Wilson.

Before the north and southeast projects can be considered for re-approval of preliminary engineering, the FTA must review Metro's updated travel forecasts and capital cost estimates, Little said in the letter to Wilson.

After that review is complete, she wrote, Metro must submit a full application including an updated financial plan, transit-supportive land-use plans and other documentation before the projects can proceed.

full article

This is an interesting development.

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  • 4 months later...

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